


When on the Verge of Letting Go

by ApomaroMellow



Category: Star vs. The Forces Of Evil
Genre: Gyms, M/M, Netflix and Chill, Picnics, Skating
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-04
Updated: 2019-12-18
Packaged: 2020-10-06 18:02:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20511185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ApomaroMellow/pseuds/ApomaroMellow
Summary: Five oneshots. Five dates. All Tomco





	1. Picnic

Marco looked out onto the dry, barren wasteland. Not even a tumbleweed in sight. He saw something flying in the distance. It could have been a vulture, but considering he was in the underworld, it was probably a five-eyed, three-armed demon.

"This is..."

"It's great, right!", Tom said, putting an arm around his shoulders. "It's my favorite picnic spot. Outside the beach, it is."

"Well, let's set up", Marco said, holding up the picnic basket.

He set it down on the rough, dry ground and took the blanket out first. He laid it open and started taking other things out of the basket. The sun blazed down above them and Marco shielded his eyes from it as he looked up in the sky.

"Uh, can we do anything to keep the sun from burning me alive?"

"Sure thing, babe." Tom snapped his fingers and in a blaze, a demon appeared. Their long tail stuck into the ground and they domed their wings to provide shade. Marco looked into their bloodshot eyes and gulped. He couldn't eat with that glaring at him.

"Maybe something less alive? Like a normal umbrella?"

Tom sighed. "My boyfriend is so high maintenance." He clapped his hands and the winged demon pulled out an umbrella, stuck it in the ground to replace himself and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Much better", Marco said as he pulled out a cool thermos of lemonade. "You'll thank me when I lean in for a kiss and I'm not covered in sweat."

He handed a cup of lemonade to Tom and the two of them sipped in silence for a moment. Without the deadly rays of heat shining directly on him, Marco could actually enjoy the scenery a little. Sure, it was a desert. And didn't look at all welcoming. But that was just surface appearance. Every once in a while, he could see something flying above, or scuttling between the cracks in the ground.

There was life here, if you knew where to look.

"I get why you like this place, Tom", Marco said as he started to take out the sandwiches. "It's like you."

"Yeah..wait-what?! How is it anything like me?" Tom pointed to himself, then the landscape, then himself, trying to see the connection.

"When you first look at it, all you see is a burning inferno that just wants to kill you. But if you look deeper you can see there's more to it than that", Marco smiled fondly at him.

Tom softened at that. He forgot sometimes how Marco could be a sap. But he loved it. Too bad he was gonna have to burst his boyfriend's bubble in a moment.

"That was really romantic and poetic, but I didn't bring you here to stare at nothing."

"What? What else is there to stare at?", Marco gestured to the apparent nothingness when the scenery began to change. The sun seemed to pulse with purpose and blazed brighter. The ground got hotter, as if being cooked. All of the cracks began to close and the dirt turned glossy like glass. Soon the entire desert was just one big mirror.

"Whaaaaaaa...", Marco looked at it in awe while Tom pulled out two pairs of skates from the basket. "When did you-?"

"Super demon powers. Plus, you can be easily distracted going through your picnic checklist", Tom grinned.

They put on their skates and Tom led Marco out onto the biggest rink in the world. He saw a few more demons venture out with skates of their own, a few with bare feet but he only had eyes for Tom. Both the real him and the clear and pure reflection below them as they skated around. It was when he looked at Tom's reflection that Marco could see the way Tom looked at him, goo-goo eyes and all.

"And you call me the romantic."


	2. Dinner Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this one is post season 4

"Why did I agree to this?! Why! Why! Why!" Each why was punctuated with Marco banging his head against the table.

"Because you like Jackie, like dinner parties, and you wanna like her girlfriend?", Tom counted off his fingers.

Giving a groan, Marco rose his head off the table, smoothed out the tablecloth and inspected it for any wrinkles with a close eye. Tom grinned at him.

"You're also a perfectionist."

"Yeah, well so are you", Marco said, shooting Tom an annoyed look while he adjusted the flowers in a vase. "Plus, I'm not the one who blows up when something doesn't go my way."

Tom began to set the table. "No, you just complain, and whine about it."

Marco rolled his eyes. "I just want things to go right. I want to know for sure that things are okay with us." Marco hadn't had much face time with her, even when she got back to America. And then two worlds were cleaved together and everyone had to go through an adjustment period. In fact, everyone was still adjusting. Magic was gone but what humans would call magical creatures still existed.

Giant spiders, ponyheads, and Tom.

Tom who had started renting out a place near Marco's home and since they started dating had become Marco's home away from home. It was where they were having the dinner party. The whole thing had been Star's idea.

Their friends from Earth and their friends from Mewni had been introduced to each other at times, so they knew of each other. But this was the first time all of them would be together in one place. It was why everything had to be perfect. These thoughts were rolling around in Marco's head as he looked himself over in the bathroom mirror.

He adjusted everything, his hair, his cuffs, his belt, even though they were all fine already. He just couldn't sit still and felt like if there was one hair out of place it'd be all his fault.

"You know the point of a party is to have fun, right Diaz?" Tom was leaning against the doorway, arms crossed.

"What if this doesn't work?" Marco braced himself against the sink. "What if someone offends someone else? And it starts a rise in tensions? And the two sides go to war?! What if Jackie's girlfriend doesn't like me?!"

Tom came over and put his hands on Marco's shoulders. "If a race war starts in this new world of ours, it won't be your fault. And of course she'll like you. Everyone does in time."

It was at that moment that the doorbell rang, signaling their first guest. Marco took a deep breath and stood up straight. He smiled at Tom and kissed his cheek before going out to meet the first arrival. He let out a sigh of relief when it was Star. Star was easy. He knew how to be around her. But soon enough the apartment was filled with more and more people.

At times, it was a bit much for Marco. The pressure would build up. But in those moments, he'd take comfort in Tom's presence. Whether it was right by his side, arm around his shoulders as they sat on the couch and listened to a story told by Ferguson, or if they were across the room from one another. Knowing that Tom was there, Marco felt like everything would be alright.


	3. Netflix Marathon

Marco came over to the couch, bowl of popcorn in hand. "You ready for this?"

"Ready to watch a bunch of tv?", Tom asked. "Yeah, I think my butt is sufficiently cushioned."

"You've never binged a show before, have you? Let me tell you my friend, it's a whole new experience to just watching a bunch of tv."

Marco turned on the television and brought up the selection of shows. "What're you in the mood for? True crime documentaries?"

"How romantic. Reminds me of our first date, where I kidnapped you", Tom teased.

"You didn't kidnap me. You took me to a surprise location. There's a difference."

"Potato-potahto."

Marco chose a show for them and got comfortable on the couch, right by Tom's side. Tom wrapped an arm around his shoulder. Having Marco close like this, he almost didn't care what they were watching. That being said, he was confused when a children's cartoon began to play.

"Costumed heroes, huh?"

"You're gonna like it, I promise", Marco said.

Tom decided to believe him. He'd been skeptical when Marco had introduced him to lo-fi music and he ended up liking that a lot. So he gave this show a chance. A few episodes in and he got a handle on the premise and before he knew it, he was invested.

"So she has a crush on him and he has a crush on a superhero that is her but she doesn't know and he doesn't know that she likes him?"

"That's the gist of it, yeah", Marco answered with a grin.

Marco was halfway sitting in Tom's lap at this point, halfway through season one. It was one of their preferred positions. Sometimes they tried the other way around, but it was a little difficult with Tom's horns. And he refused to wear the horn cozies Star had knitted for him.

"Gah! Why can't they just tell each other their identities!?"

"Dramatic tension", Marco shrugged. "Why'd it take you so long to tell me you liked me?"

"That's different and you know it."

"Yeah, sure", Marco grinned, giving his attention back to the show. In time, they got to the end of the episodes available and Tom immediately demanded more. At which point, Marco had to tell him about the show's notoriously baffling airing schedule, much to his boyfriend's despair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes, they're watching miraculous


	4. Scavenger Hunt

Quests were fun. Marco liked quests. He thought they were exciting and all that jazz. But he wasn't quite in the mood for one on his anniversary with Tom. They'd been dating for a year now and Marco had planned to have a nice dinner with him. But when he woke up that morning, he found a scavenger hunt taped to his forehead instead.

But Tom had also left a really sweet letter along with the first clue, so he couldn't deny him this on such a special day. After getting in a shower, brushing his teeth and hair (with two different brushes) and getting dressed, he got started on the items he was supposed to go after. The first riddle led him to go right into his kitchen and seek out something in the cupboards.

_That coffee you made the first night I stayed over_

He found the tub and taped to it was the next clue. At this point, he was beyond wondering how Tom got access to his house without his knowing. The next clue sent him to: _the place with the best early morning breakfast_.

Marco couldn't help but smile at how well his boyfriend knew him. Tom knew for a fact that he'd be up earlier than usual on a day like today. And besides breakfast burritos from Britta's Tacos, there was one placed that served something earlier and better.

"One sunrise special", Marco said, approaching the counter of the food truck.

After paying, he was handed a slice of morning pizza with bacon, eggs, cheese, and white sauce. He was also given another sheet of paper with a clue written on it. He ate his pizza on the way to it, the clue leading him to where he and Tom had their first date. Marco went through each part of the hunt with ease, knowing Tom and Tom knowing him so intimately.

That's what happened when you started dating someone you were already really go friends with. They knew each other inside and out and were pretty much always in sync. The scavenger hunt took him to a spa, where he got treated, to a flower shop (where Tom had ordered a bouquet for him), to a crepe cart, through the local park, to the library, the movies, the amphitheater, and finally, back to Marco's house.

He went inside and Tom was waiting there, dinner already prepared and on the table.

"Was this whole hunt just so you could get this all done while I was gone?", Marco asked, sitting down as Tom pulled out a chair for him.

"Maybe. Maybe I also wanted to remind you just how much I love you. This is the day for that isn't it?"

Tom sat next to Marco and poured them both a drink. Marco could see the label clearly said sparkling apple juice. They clinked their glasses together, smiling warmly in the candlelight.

"To another year of this", Tom toasted.

"Another year of us", Marco said before kissing his cheek.


	5. Gym Date

"You ready to get fit!?"

"Yeah! You ready to get buff?!"

"Yeah! You ready to break not one sweat but a thousand sweats!?"

"Yeah! You ready to get strong enough to crush a skull in your hands!?"

"Yeah! Ye-yeah? Tom I don't think you get the concept of a gym."

Tom shrugged. "What's to get? A training arena where you go to improve your strength and stamina. We have those in the Underworld."

Marco adjusted the duffel bag on his shoulder. "Just...well, you'll see when we get there. So please don't bring your spear."

Tom left his spear leaning against the wall and followed Marco to the gym. He'd been right. Tom wasn't expecting this. People of various sizes, all using different kinds of equipment. Some sweating profusely, others barely at all. All with different work out intensities.

"Are those torture devices?", Tom asked.

"In a manner of speaking, yes."

After a few stretches, Marco led his boyfriend over to the ellipticals. He guided him to start out slow, build a good pace, and then speed up as he felt more comfortable working with it.

"You do this all the time?"

"I did before I met Star and got my cardio work out fighting monsters. And now, there isn't really anyone to fight, so..."

"...Makes sense", Tom agreed.

He started going a little faster on the machine, his mind racing the way his body currently was. A lot had changed in the past year, not just for the world but between he and Marco as well. Marco could see Tom was getting in the zone, as one was prone to do when doing a repetitive exercise. But after about half an hour and not a single word, he thought it might be a good time to stop and try something else.

Marco introduced Tom to some other work out routines, all that the demon excelled at once he got the basic motion down. It had him wishing that he still had access to his older-Marco body with the muscles. It'd give him something to impress Tom with. After breaking a thousand sweats, Marco brought Tom to the little cafe in the gym.

"Let me show you why this is my favorite place to go." He ordered for them and then presented Tom with magic in a bowl.

"It's a smoothie...in a bowl."

"It's a smoothie bowl!", Marco announced dramatically.

"It's a smoothie in a bowl. Earth-folk know about cups, right?", Tom grinned as he picked up his spoon.

"One bite and you will realize", Marco said sagely.

Tom took his one bite of the mango pineapple smoothie bowl and his eyes began to sparkle. Marco simply nodded, sure in his righteousness. The two lovers enjoyed their after-workout food, talking of nothing and yet sometimes that meant everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When things go bad, when things go wrong  
When on the verge of letting go  
There's something that I really want you to know  
You are not alone  
-We're Not Alone

**Author's Note:**

> this one has me thinking that if there's a Blood Moon Ball, what about other celestial/bodily calendar events? Maybe a Sweat Comet Social or a Tears Sun Talent show to round out blood, sweat, and tears? Or something? I kinda wanna revisit this idea later


End file.
